Use of dopamine agonists to target angiogenesis in women with endometriosis.

Endometriosis requires medical management during a woman's reproductive years. Most treatments aim to create a hypoestrogenic milieu, but for patients wishing to conceive, drugs that allow normal ovarian function are needed. Targeting angiogenesis, a hallmark of the disease, using dopamine agonists (DAs) is a promising strategy for endometriosis treatment.

Association of a dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene variant with depression in elderly women possibly reflecting noradrenergic dysfunction.

Background: Depression has a multifactorial etiology which involves genetic factors and comorbid diseases.

Methods: A cross-sectional sample of 1371 elderly women (mean age=69.2 years) was examined.

Cognitive performance in elderly women: significance of the 19bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in the 5' flank of the dopamine beta-hydroxylase gene, educational level, body fat measures, serum triglyceride, alcohol consumption and age.

Background: Genetic and environmental factors influence cognitive aging. The gene encoding dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) could be one such factor since this hydroxylase converts dopamine to norepinephrine both of which are involved in cognition regulation.

Objective: To assess the effect of the 19bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in the 5' flank of the DBH gene on cognitive performance in elderly women relative to other factors of cognitive aging.

Associations between aortic calcification and components of body composition in elderly men.

Objective: To investigate associations among body composition, cardiovascular risk factors, and atherosclerosis in middle-aged and elderly men for the identification of potential pathogenic links.

Research Methods And Procedures: The study included 168 white men 44 to 86 years old. Severity of aortic calcification (AC) was graded on lateral radiographs, and body fat and lean mass were measured by DXA.

Cognitive impairment in elderly women: the relative importance of selected genes, lifestyle factors, and comorbidities.

Background: A variety of factors contribute to the development of cognitive impairment in elderly people. Previous studies have focused upon a single or a few risk factors. In this study we assessed and compared the significance of a wide variety of potential risk factors for cognitive impairment in postmenopausal women.

Estrogen receptor alpha and risk for cognitive impairment in postmenopausal women.

The estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) gene has been implicated in the process of cognitive impairment in elderly women. In a paired case-control study, we tested whether two ESR1 gene polymorphisms (the XbaI and PvuII sites) are risk factors for cognitive impairment as measured by the six-item Orientation-Memory-Concentration test in postmenopausal Danish women. Hormone replacement therapy, age and executive cognitive ability were examined as covariates for ESR1 gene effects on cognitive impairment.

The long-term predictive value of bone mineral density measurements for fracture risk is independent of the site of measurement and the age at diagnosis: results from the Prospective Epidemiological Risk Factors study.

Although the utility of bone mass measurements has been the subjects of extensive investigations, the number of studies comparing the predictive value of bone mass measurement at different skeletal sites in the same cohort with a large number of clinically verified endpoints is limited. Furthermore, scant information is available on how age at the time of diagnosis influence the risk of future fractures posed by low bone mineral density (BMD). We have followed 5,564 Danish postmenopausal women for a mean period of 7.

Oral salmon calcitonin induced suppression of urinary collagen type II degradation in postmenopausal women: a new potential treatment of osteoarthritis.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of 3 months of oral salmon calcitonin (sCT) on cartilage degradation as estimated by the changes in the urinary excretion of C-terminal telopeptide of collagen type II (CTX-II), and to investigate whether the response of oral sCT to urinary CTX-II depends on the baseline level of cartilage turnover.

Methods: This was a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical setting including 152 Danish postmenopausal women aged 55-85. The subjects received treatment with the different doses of sCT (0.

Enlarged waist combined with elevated triglycerides is a strong predictor of accelerated atherogenesis and related cardiovascular mortality in postmenopausal women.

Background: Upward trends of obesity urge more effective identification of those at cardiovascular risk. A simple dichotomous indicator, enlarged waist (> or =88 cm) combined with elevated triglycerides (> or =1.45 mmol/L) (EWET), was shown to offer advantages in identifying individuals with atherogenic "lipid overaccumulation" compared with other indicators, including the metabolic syndrome defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program (MS-NCEP).

Comparison of quantitative ultrasound of the phalanges with conventional bone densitometry in healthy postmenopausal women.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of the quantitative ultrasound (QUS) technique for the identification of subjects with spine fracture or low bone mineral density (BMD) previously determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). QUS of the phalanges in 1,350 postmenopausal women (60-83 years old) was compared with DEXA measurements of four skeletal sites (lumbar spine, total hip, femoral neck, and distal radius) of the same subjects. The contribution of body mass index (BMI) was also assessed.

Early postmenopausal hormone therapy may prevent cognitive impairment later in life.

Objective: Estrogen deficiency has been implicated as a risk factor for cognitive impairment in elderly women, yet the role of hormone therapy (HT) to prevent this event remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of administration of HT for 2 to 3 years in the early postmenopausal years on the risk of cognitive impairment 5 to 15 years later.

Design: We followed a group of 343 women who had received HT in randomized, placebo-controlled trials and were reexamined 5, 11, or 15 years after completion of therapy.

Changes in bone density and turnover after alendronate or estrogen withdrawal.

Objective: To compare bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover changes after therapy withdrawal in postmenopausal women treated with alendronate or estrogen-progestin.

Design: In this randomized, blinded, multinational, placebo-controlled trial, 1,609 healthy postmenopausal women ages 45 to 59 years were assigned to receive alendronate, placebo, or open-label estrogen-progestin (conjugated equine estrogens plus medroxyprogesterone acetate or a cyclic regimen of 17 beta-estradiol, norethisterone acetate and estradiol). Of the original women, one third after year 2 and one third after year 4 were switched from alendronate to placebo, while remaining blinded to treatment assignment.

The implications of body fat mass and fat distribution for cognitive function in elderly women.

Objective: To investigate how body fat mass, an established source of endogenous estrogen after menopause, influences cognitive impairment in elderly women.

Research Methods And Procedures: Study participants were 5607 generally healthy postmenopausal women with mean age of 63.8 years at baseline followed for an average of 7.

Novel associations between bioavailable estradiol and adipokines in elderly women with different phenotypes of obesity: implications for atherogenesis.

Background: Peripheral adiposity confers protection against diabetes and atherosclerosis in elderly women. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain to be elucidated.

Methods And Results: On the basis on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measurements of central fat mass (CFM) and peripheral fat mass (PFM), we identified 290 elderly women with distinct forms of body fat distribution (lean, peripheral obesity, central obesity, or general obesity).

Safety and efficacy of a novel salmon calcitonin (sCT) technology-based oral formulation in healthy postmenopausal women: acute and 3-month effects on biomarkers of bone turnover.

Unlabelled: Oral administration of calcitonin could improve compliance to long-term treatment. Efficacy and safety of a novel oral formulation was assessed on 277 postmenopausal women. The results show (1) effective enteral absorption, (2) marked inhibition of bone resorption with minimal alteration of formation, and (3) reproducibility of responses over 3 months.

Effective doses of ibandronate do not influence the 3-year progression of aortic calcification in elderly osteoporotic women.

Animal experiments revealed conflicting results as to the impact of bisphosphonate treatment on atherosclerosis and related vascular calcification. The effect of long-term treatment with clinical doses of bisphosphonates on aortic calcification (AC) in an "at-risk" population of osteoporotic elderly women has not been assessed systematically. In the present analysis including 474 women (55-80 years) participating in two 3-year randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials, we assessed the simultaneous impact of ibandronate given either orally (2.

Two to three years of hormone replacement treatment in healthy women have long-term preventive effects on bone mass and osteoporotic fractures: the PERF study.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often prescribed for a few years to suppress menopausal symptoms. Although its long-term use of HRT for the primary prevention of osteoporosis is not currently recommended, the long-term skeletal benefits of the limited therapy are of great interest. To determine whether administration of HRT for 2-3 years in the early postmenopausal years provides long-term benefits, such as prevention of bone loss and osteoporotic fractures, we studied a group of 347 healthy postmenopausal women with normal bone mass who had earlier completed one of four placebo-controlled HRT trials and who were reexamined 5, 11, or 15 years after stopping HRT.

Pulsed estrogen therapy in prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. A 2-year randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pulsed estrogen therapy (intranasal 17beta-estradiol) in the prevention of postmenopausal bone loss. A total of 386 women (40-65 years old), less than 5 years past menopause, were randomized to intranasal placebo, 17beta-estradiol 150 micro g, or 300 micro g daily for 2 years. Women with an intact uterus received micronised progesterone 200 mg per day, 14 days of each 28-day cycle.

Alendronate has a residual effect on bone mass in postmenopausal Danish women up to 7 years after treatment withdrawal.

Alendronate has been shown to reduce bone turnover and increase bone mass. However, little is known about the duration of the effect on bone after treatment withdrawal. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover of various alendronate regimens after treatment withdrawal.

Central and peripheral fat mass have contrasting effect on the progression of aortic calcification in postmenopausal women.

Aim: To investigate the long-term effects of central fat mass (CFM) and peripheral fat mass (PFM) on atherogenic risk profile and the progression of aortic calcification (AC) in postmenopausal women.

Methods And Results: Participants were 316 women aged 50-76 years, who were followed for 7.7 years.

Peripheral adiposity exhibits an independent dominant antiatherogenic effect in elderly women.

Background: Although several lines of evidence point to an atherogenic role of central fat mass (CFM), few data are available to address the specific role played by peripheral fat mass (PFM).

Methods And Results: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of 1356 women aged 60 to 85 years. Study variables were physical measures, CFM and PFM measured by DEXA, aortic calcification (AC) graded on lateral radiographs, lipid and glucose metabolites, blood pressure, and information on lifestyle factors and coronary disease.

Serum placental protein 14: a novel marker of selective oestrogen receptor modulator action on the postmenopausal endometrium.

The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether changes in the serum level of an endometrial secretory protein, placental protein 14 (PP14), can reflect endometrial adverse events induced by selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was used. Participants were healthy postmenopausal women aged 45-65 years, who received either various doses of raloxifene (30, 60 or 150 mg day-1) or levormeloxifene (1.